A Journey Home

On our last day in Costa Rica we began our journey home. But not before an emotional visit to Hogar Escuela in San Jose. This "home school" as it is directly translated is a haven for young children of working mothers. The school also provides adult education for those same mothers providing skills that can lift them out of the poverty in which they dwell. It was a mixed emotion visit. You can see the joy and love in the faces of children while the school sits in a neighborhood that is stricken with poverty. The photos show the metal shanties that surround the school as well as some of the fun we had with the ninos & ninas.

It is always better to return an item in better condition than when you got it, to leave a place better than when you arrived, to give a little more than you receive and to love as much as you are loved. In the end we accomplished much of this. We were only 13 individuals that came together as a team to leave the place we went a little better than when we arrived. However, I would call it even on the giving/receiving measure. We received as much love as we gave. We did leave Santa Cruz better than when we arrived, but we also left as a better people & mission team.

The Day in San Jose

We had a full day in San Jose. We began the day with breakfast and then boarded our bus for a tour of Heredia, a very impoverished area south of San Jose. There are 50,000 impoverished people living in shanties and government housing. The Mission of the Episcopal Church in Costa Rica has acquired about 3 acres of land to build a school within walking distance of this neighborhood. The school will accept children from all denominations that are in need of nourishment, education, child care and the love of Jesus Christ. The facility will be used in the evenings to educate mothers for careers in computers, sewing, cooking and other mediums.

We then visited a new mission in Heredia that is on a second floor in an industrial block, Iglesia Episcopal Costarricense Mision Cristo Resucitado. The small but beautiful chapel is a testimony to the love of the clergy in Costa Rica.

We then visited the Cafe Britt in Costa Rica, which is a coffee plantation with a walking tour and dining area. Afterwards we spent time in the national area in San Jose where we saw the National Theater and National Cathedral.

At 6:00 we attended Mass (Misa) in the Diocosan House during which we shared thoughts about our mission with the Bishop of Costa Rica, Hector Monterrosa. After Mass we dined on Costa Rican Barbeque and danced.

A Bitter Sweet Day

Tuesday was a bitter sweet day. We spent the day finishing projects and preparing for our journey to San Jose. We tiled the altar area, built forms for the sidewalk and shed and began cementing the shed area. We finished our work around 3:00 in the afternoon and presented our foremen with a few more gifts of appreciation, a level and other construction tools. We then sadly said goodbye to our amigos in Guacimo.

We did as Jesus asked us as we visited with the Love of God and received the Love of God through our commission as misionaries. While we were here we also celebrated two birthdays, Liz Gail and David Fahey; and the anniversary of Rev Sarah Hollars Ordination.

Fellowship

We spent Monday evening in fellowship and reflection with Father Pedro and his family, Norma, Maria Jose & Daniel; and with our Costa Rican Foremen Luis Raton & Luis Mole. We exchanged small gifts of appreciation, prayer and wonderful friendship.

A New Week, A New Day

A new day at the beginning of a new week found us once again beginning our day in our Morning Prayer Round Circle. We have met here every morning and evening to begin and end our day with the presence of the Holy Spirit in our Mission Trip.

We continued the day still tiling, now grouting, building the altar and excavating in the back yard to prepare for a new sidewalk and storage area.

We then took a short trip to San Lucas in Germania where our previous mission trip did some very good work, tiling and painting and supplying appliances for their kitchen. While we were there, David made a new friend.

The Best Day of the Week

Every Sunday our Rector, Reverend Sarah Hollar declares that Sunday is the best day of the week. And she is proven correct once again. We spent a beautiful Costa Rica morning celebrating Mass with the folks from Santa Cruz, our host church. We sang songs of praise, broke bread together and shared the 'Paz de Dios' in pews set in the Parish Hall as the church is still under reconstruction.

We then ate Comida Tipica with our hosts, a tipical lunch meal of Braised Chicken, Beans & Rice, Pasta & warm rice pudding. Absolutely wonderful food and fellowship. We reconnected with friends from the past trip and made new ones.

We then changed into work duds and got busy, continuing our tiling; as well as building the altar and preparing an area to build an outdoor room for storage.

We finished our evening with Complence and fellowship.

The Day's Work

We spent the day tiling, cleaning and building the altar. We were all led by our illustrious foreman, Mike Tinsley.

View of Volcano

The route we take to Santa Cruz in Guacimo affords us a few a volcano spewing ash (gray smoke in top right of photo).

Started another beautiful mission trip day with morning prayer that concluded with "Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine; Glory to God from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus forever and ever."
Ephesians 3:20, 21

It was wonderful to see that the fruits of our previous trip are holding up well. This mural was painted by St. Mark's Youth Group in July of 2008. The Parish Hall Wall was set up and the bell tower and bell were repaired on the same venture.